Make Characters Likeable by Having Someone Like Them

So much of what we do here on Seekerville and at writer’s conferences and in writing classes is try to put into words something that is just really HARD to put into words.

How do you write? Well, it’s complicated. Once in a while I hear something that really sort of clears up a vague area for me. And when I heard that sentence, that I used for the title of this blog, it was such a moment.

Make Characters Likeable by Having Someone Like Them

I had a heroine that wasn’t likeable. Now, when we’re writing we need conflicted characters. We need problems to solve. As Christian writers we often have characters struggling with their faith (which doesn’t always mean they’re lousy stinkin’ low life sinners, but sometimes!)

A lot of those conflicts and problems and sin add up to a character no one likes. After all, isn’t that sort of the POINT? Aren’t we supposed to CHANGE our characters? Take them from one place, often a bad place, and bring them to Happily Ever After?

And yet a perennial complaint in, for example writer’s contest judge’s comments is, “I don’t like you’re character.”

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Well, (you respond, inside your own head ‘cuz those blasted judges are anonymous and beyond your reach) “She’s troubled. She’s separated from her faith. She’s abrasive because she’s unhappy. MY POOR HEROINE WILL BE FINE WHEN SHE FINDS TRUE LOVE AND A TRUE FAITH.

No!!

You’ve got to make her likeable right out of the box. Yes she can be troubled, or at least she can HAVE trouble, the two are different, perfectly likeable people can have bad stuff going on. But if she’s not likeable people are not going to be rooting for her. They’re not going to care about her. They’re going to think things like, “She’s a jerk and she’s going to ruin some guy’s life.”

Or “Get that rude man away from that nice heroine. She’s better off alone.”

So, you have to make your characters likeable. And you make your characters likeable by having someone like them. Give them a friend. Give them a loyal brother. Give them a pet.

To make your character likeable right from the start give them a chance meeting with a friend on the sidewalk. A moment shared with their cat. A phone call from their brother. It can be a paragraph and you get right back to your story.

And here’s the thing. My headline sentence isn’t magic.

By writing that paragraph with the friend/brother/pet you have to make your character interact in a way that’s friendly. Because they’re with someone who is in the midst of liking them, your character will be nice back. A loyal brother phones and your character, no matter how troubled, will love their brother. The two will care about each other. It will reveal a LIKEABLE side to your character, without you even planning it.

So, that’s the lesson for today.

Do you struggle with this? Do you have a knee jerk reaction to this (as I used to) ‘well she’s going to GROW.’ ‘Sure right now he’s a sinner but he finds God by the end.’ ‘She’s lonely and rejected and through the love of a good man she becomes a better person.’

Is your hero/heroine likeable? Think about your work. If you’ve read my books you know sometimes my characters are a little weird. Ambitious (Julia Kincaid, Shannon Dysart) Troubled (crazy Seth Kincaid, crazy Alex Buchanan) Bossy (Rafe AND Julie Kincaid) Domineering and anti-male (Belle Tanner-Swenson-O'Rourke-Santoni-Harden) Wimpy (Cassie Dawson) Dangerous (Mandy McClellen and Abby Linscott) A cowardly, womanizing drunkard (okay, Wade Sawyer wasn't real likeable until later, but Montana Rose wasn't about him, he was supposed to be unlikeable at first)

But they have people in their lives who LIKE THEM. (okay, again, not Wade Sawyer at first, give me a break!) It’s really just that simple.

Tell me if you’ve got a problem with likeable-ness in your characters, but you don’t want to give up on them. And without changing your character much at all, we can talk about it today and fix it.

Today, to celebrate OVER THE EDGE debuting at #12 on the ECPA Bestseller List! I'm giving a $15 CBD eGift card to one lucky commentor, so get your name in for the drawing even if your characters are just all ADORABLE!